The present invention relates generally to garage door systems and methods and more specifically to garage door systems and methods for monitoring existing garage doors.
Many existing homes with garages have a garage door opener. A typical garage door opener includes an electrical motor and a chain that links the electrical motor to the garage door. When the electrical motor rotates, the garage door can either open upwards or close downwards.
Many garage door systems also use a manual switch that is typically located on a wall inside the garage. When the switch is pressed, the garage door can be closed or opened depending upon the user's desire.
It is not uncommon for users to leave home wondering whether the garage door was left open. Oftentimes, the user has left home and is remotely located and too far away or it is too inconvenient to return home to determine the garage door state.
If the user wishes to always remotely confirm that the garage door was closed such as via the Internet for example, the user must uninstall and replace the conventional existing garage door system with one that can be operated remotely. The user must also maintain the manual switch separate and apart from any newly installed garage door monitoring system.
The present invention addresses one or more of the aforementioned disadvantages of conventional garage door opening systems.